Lifelong resident hopes to promote positive relationships and good governance as mayor

In anticipation of the upcoming Brush Municipal Election, the Fort Morgan Times has given each city council and mayoral candidate the chance to answer the same five questions about their candidacy and current issues in the city. Next up is current ward two councilwoman Vicky Quinlin, who is running for mayor. She is opposed by ward one councilman Rick Bain and Paul Acosta.

1. Why are you running for mayor? What makes you the best choice for the position?

As a lifelong resident of Brush I am committed to and want the best for my community. I have six years of experience on city council with two of those years serving as Mayor Pro Tem. I believe the role of the mayor is to provide leadership, promote positive relationships and model good governance. I have experienced success in these areas as evident by the placement of the Weigh and Win kiosk in Brush. Networking, collaboration and partnerships are vital. Good governance is defined as accountability for our decisions, following the law, being responsive, effective and efficient.

2. Is there anything that has come before the council in the past year that you wanted to see have been handled differently?

Advertisement

Nothing specific stands out. Sometimes we make difficult decisions, however, those decisions are based on doing what's best for the greatest majority of citizens and/or following municipal code. With that being said, if we do have some "wiggle room" we should consider it. Everything does not have to be black and white. An example was the use of ATVs for snow removal. They should be allowed to be driven on public roads to get to a work site.

3) What, in your opinion, is the biggest issue facing Brush? How would you approach it?

FEMA's new/updated flood plain maps sure brought a lot of frustration. It's difficult working with a federal program that so heavily regulates us. Then to challenge or get more clarity from FEMA requires a great amount of time and potentially money.

Affordable housing is also an issue. However, we do have that as a council priority. We are actively addressing that issue by having a Contractors & Permit Workshop.

4) What, if anything, do you think should be done about the dangerous dog issue in Brush?

As a council, we are in agreement that the fines need to be significantly higher starting with the first offense, so instead of a $50 fine possibly a $300 fine. We are also looking at approving a protection order. It would be issued to the owner of a dangerous dog who has appeared in municipal court. There are several standards that the owner must adhere to that are designed to protect the citizens of Brush.

5) What, if anything, do you think should be done in regard to storage containers?

We are addressing that. On Oct. 10, a Cargo Container Regulation open house was held at the council chambers, allowing citizens the opportunity for input. On Oct. 16, a joint work session with the council and the Planning & Zoning Commission was held to develop standards for an ordinance. I do see a need for the containers.

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.